Annamay McNally

Police in the case of a 27 year-old man accused of being connected to the murder of a Lithuanian in a shed near Coalisland, have told the local Magistrates Court that “tensions remain high” in the area following the killing.

The officer objected to bail for the defendant, Marius Dzimisevicius, who is accused of assisting offenders and withholding information in relation to the murder of Gediminas Stauskas on October 14.

The investigator said police would have “extreme concerns” for public safety and for the safety of the defendant if bail were granted.

“Tensions remain high within the general Lithuanian community at this time”, the PSNI witness added.

The officer also referred to CCTV which, he said, showed the defendant transporting the murder accused away from the scene, and claimed at least six trips were made there while the incident was ongoing.

Continuing, the police investigator said: “CCTV shows he (defendant) bringing food and alcohol for the other accused in the case while the main murder suspect resided at that garage on the Moor Road.”

A barrister for the defendant told the court Dzimisevicius has been living in Northern Ireland for three years with his wife.

Despite proferring a bail address at the Sisters of Mercy Convent in Armagh, District Judge, John Meehan, refused bail and said any association with witnesses in this “very serious murder case”, as well as risk of flight, were too great to allow the court to “take a gamble”.